Meaning & Origins

Invented in the 17th century by the poet Fulke Greville (1554–1628). It is impossible to guess what models he had consciously or unconsciously in mind, but it has been variously conjectured that the name is an anagram of Mary; that it is a simplified spelling of Latin myrrha ‘myrrh, unguent’ and that it is connected with Latin mirari ‘to wonder at, admire’ (see Miranda).